As part of its campaign for a “Zero Waste Pasko,” the EcoWaste Coalition is urging the public to reuse, recycle or upcycle wrappers and other gift materials instead of simply tossing them in the bin, or setting them on fire.
“Reusing, recycling or upcycling used wrappers, bags, boxes and accessories will surely extend the useful life of these materials, and cut the volume of ‘holitrash’ that is sullying the season of giving,” said Ochie Tolentino, Zero Waste Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
“By not dumping or burning them, we also avoid pollutants from being formed or scattered into the environment,” she said. “These environmental pollutants contaminate our surroundings, including the air we breathe and the food we eat.”
Depending on what is being burned, the open burning of garbage, for example, can result in smoke and ash containing heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, persistent organic pollutants like dioxins, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, as well as volatile organic compounds and particulate matter.
To protect public health and the environment from garbage and pollution, the country’s environmental laws, particularly the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, have outlawed open dumping and open burning.
Instead of tearing gift wrappers as shown in movies, the EcoWaste Coalition urged recipients to unwrap presents with care and keep the wrappers, bags, boxes, bows and ribbons for future gift giving.
Wrappers can also be repurposed into book or notebook covers and as materials for school and personal art projects like scrapbooks. Crumpled wrappers can be used as cushioning materials for Christmas lights and Christmas tree decors to be removed and stored after the holidays.
Gift bags and boxes can be reused for storing trinkets, buttons and sewing materials, maintenance medicines, paper clips and other office or school supplies.
Bows and ribbons can be used again or turned into personal adornments like hair bows and ties or as add-ons to flower arrangements.
Greeting cards can be repurposed into instant bookmarks or reused as decors for next Christmas.
Red envelopes or money covers can be reused to keep ID photos, business cards, receipts, etc.
Gift hampers can be repurposed as containers for kitchen condiments, fruits and vegetables, indoor plants, children’s toys, etc.
On Dec. 10, in an event held in cooperation with the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Project 8, Quezon City, the EcoWaste Coalition put on display creative holiday decorations using a variety of common household discards such as glass and plastic bottles, tin cans, brown bags, egg trays, toilet paper rolls, magazines, and even electronic waste or e-waste in a bid to promote resource conservation and an eco-friendly observance of the Christmas season.